Mountains cover more than 90 % of this landlocked country, the smallest in Central Asia with a population of around eight million people. With the lowest GDP in the region, Tajikistan is also the youngest country by demographic, with one third of the population under 14 years old. The youth bulge is placing considerable pressure … More Talking with Tajikistan’s Deputy Minister of Labour, Migration and Employment

Central Asia colleagues met at #ETF HQ in Turin last week to discuss ways of enhancing evidence-based policy making. You may have met these faces from Tajikistan and Kazakhstan at the Changing Skills for a Changing World #ETFTRP conference back in June. We catch up with Subhon and Aliya to get an update of developments. … More Torino Process Talking

Self-employment and small business creation are a priority in the Central Asian country Uzbekistan. Entrepreneurial learning has been integrated into the vocational system, which accounts for 90% of secondary education. Graduates receive information and training to develop business plans and are part of the nation’s wider job guarantee scheme. Uzbekistan is also a regional … More #ETFTRP Update from Uzbekistan

Skills and training in Ukraine stands on the threshold of historic change with the potential to bring profound social and economic benefits to the eastern European country. Last week, the #ETFTRP blog reported on how the education reform agenda is helping to increase the attractiveness of vocational education and training (VET). This week, we … More Devolution Ukraine: Pt 2.

The Ukrainian national parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, recently adopted a new framework law on education that brings the system closer to European standards. The European Training Foundation (ETF) provided advice and support on key aspects such as the decentralisation of vocational education, lifelong learning and quality assurance. The ETF’s roving reporter, Nick Holdsworth, … More Devolution Ukraine: Pt 1.

Since launching the #ETFTRP blog back in March, we have been bringing you the stories and the people behind the numbers contained in the Torino Process Round 4 reports. And we will continue to do so. In the meantime, for those of you wanting to delve deeper inside the Country Reports, the executive summaries are now … More #ETFTRP in the neighbourhood